Brake Quick Release Opening

This hardly warrants a new thread, but you know on a dual pivot caliper where the brake cable is clamped on to the quick release - well, my front brake actually opens the quick release during normal braking. Not all the way, but enough to be annoying. If I then close it, firstly it will bounce back a bit, then as soon as I squeeze the lever it will open quite a bit more. The quick release bit seems really loose, but there doesn’t appear to be a bolt or anything to tighten.

Does the cable need more tension to keep it in the closed position? Is there some way of tightening the quick release? Caliper needs replacing?

I’m a little concerned that if I need to stop in a hurry it may open all the way and render my braking useless.

Can take pictures if I have made no sense.

Thanks in advance.

What are the brakes? Maybe pics would help.

You know the bit where you clamp the cable; does that freely rotate on the quick release bit? Looking at some dual pivots now, I kinda think that maybe if that bit didn’t freely rotate, maybe it’d pull open the quick release under tension.

Otherwise, I dunno…

sounds like the QR bit is rooted.

buy a new bike

if you don’t need the quick release just tighten the cable and leave it open… i guess the cam has worn down

yeah or just unscrew the barrel adjuster all the way and use that as a QR (or slow release) of sorts.

^^ Oh yeah, that makes sense. Thanks guys.

if it is some really old caliper then as someone else said, the cam on the QR is probably worn down

you can just run it open all the time but that kind of defeats the purpose of having a QR on the caliper

if you are getting into the current trend of running fairly wide tyres this will become very annoying when you get flats, though they are rare on the front i guess

^ It would be about 5/6 years old - I guess that’s pretty old for a crappy Tektro caliper that’s had a lot of use. I run 28’s - could probably squeeze them out without the quick release. It’s my daily driver, so I’ve got Gatorskins on it that rarely puncture. touches head

Will probably just run it open and keep my eye out for a replacement caliper.

If you need to replace the caliper I’ve probably got a spare 6400 in the cupboard.

If it’s flat you don’t need the quick release.

^ That is true.

Until you inflate the new tube (with your last co2) and then try to put it in the frame

Just inflate once installed…

I had an issue with a tektro mid-reach (57mm) caliper that was doing something similar. It was pretty much brand new and would flip open under braking if it wasn’t super snugly done up. It only happened once but once was enough. Replaced with Shimano.

I’m puzzled by the number of roadies I see down my way who run their (shimano and similar) calipers with the cam open all the time…s’pose it’s possible they don’t know what the cam is for (?)

^ Can remember old mate Heatseeker used to run his brakes open when racing crits - something about them being less sensitive(?) Still doesn’t explain a roll down Beach Rd, but hey, you never know when a race is about to break out.

Quicker for their neutral support vehicle to change the wheel?
Honestly they are probably just freds that don’t know how to adjust their brakes.
Or they have a wobble in the wheel

hubrdz

more alarming is the number of quick release skewers that are ‘done up’ in the open position.

So, just to flog a dead horse, my rear brake just kinda sits there looking pretty, could I transplant that to the front? I’ll need to swap the bolt over - is that straight forward? Or would it be easier to swap the cam arm over?